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From a Mankato classroom to the White House: Harris names Walz her vice presidential nominee
Gov. Tim Walz fused his everyman personality with an optimistic progressive message to win the most important audition of his political career the past few weeks, winning the quick admiration of Democratic activists — and Vice President Kamala Harris, who named Walz as her running mate Tuesday. “As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and […]
Florida Republicans blast Kamala Harris’ selection of Tim Walz as her running mate
Top Florida Republicans wasted no time Tuesday in trashing Kamala Harris’ selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, labeling the choice as solidifying “the most left-wing ticket in American history,” in the words of Gov. Ron DeSantis. A former high school teacher, football coach, and member of the Army National Guard, Walz […]
Family values, LGBTQ+ rights would backslide with Project 2025
Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s ultra-conservative blueprint for the next Republican president, envisions an Ozzie and Harriet-style society in which children are raised by married heterosexual parents, unburdened by the prospect of same-sex neighbors or drag queen story hours at the local library. The cornerstone of Project 2025’s “Conservative promise” is to “restore the family […]
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Missouri AG push to delay Trump sentencing in hush money case
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s efforts to delay sentencing in former President Donald Trump’s hush money case in New York were rejected Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision comes a day before Bailey will face off in the Aug. 6 primary election against Will Scharf, a member of Trump’s legal team. In a […]
The number of political committees aimed at defeating abortion rights amendment in FL is growing
There is now a fourth political action committee formed to oppose the proposed abortion-rights constitutional amendment on the ballot in Florida this November, and a fifth may be about to launch. Amendment 4 would restore the right to an abortion up until the point of viability, around 24 weeks’ gestation. Since May 1, it has […]
Harris’ possible running mates have record of securing reproductive rights post Dobbs
The Democratic Party kicked off its virtual roll call on Thursday to formally nominate Vice President Kamala Harris as its pick for the next commander-in-chief. Harris is expected to announce her running mate soon. Speculation over her vice-presidential nominee has run rampant. States Newsroom’s Washington, D.C., bureau recently spoke with political experts who suspect Harris is […]
First day of early voting cancelled in some Florida counties due to Hurricane Debby
Monday is the first day of early voting in a number of Florida’s 67 counties, but it has been cancelled in at least seven of them because of Hurricane Debby. Although originally scheduled to begin today, there will no early voting in Alachua, Bradford, Duval, Gadsden, Jefferson, Levy, or Taylor counties. As of Monday morning, […]
Debby makes landfall as Cat 1 hurricane; thousands without power
Update: Gov. Ron DeSantis will travel on Tuesday to areas hit by Debby, which made landfall in the Big Bend as a Category 1 hurricane at 7 a.m. but has since been downgraded to a tropical storm. The state needs to assess the damage to ask the federal government for a major disaster declaration, which […]
Weird Olympics for conservatives
Fellow Americans, I know that you, like me, were shocked! shocked! at the so-called “Opening Ceremonies” of the so-called “Olympics” in the Sodom that is Paris, France. Headless ladies, heavy metal, pink feathers, drag queens, smutty scenes in a library, yellow goggle-wearing imps of Satan speaking an unintelligible foreign tongue — whatever happened to wholesome […]
Florida braces for Debby, expected to land in North Florida as a hurricane on Monday
Gov. Ron DeSantis warned residents Sunday to complete preparations for the arrival of Tropical Storm Debby, which has been forecast to hit the Big Bend area Monday morning with hurricane-force winds. “We are gonna face impacts in this state,” he said during a 7:30 a.m. briefing from the Florida Emergency Operations Center on Tallahassee’s south […]
Florida braces for Debby, expected to land in North Florida as a hurricane on Monday
Gov. Ron DeSantis warned residents Sunday to complete preparations for the arrival of Tropical Storm Debby, which has been forecast to hit the Big Bend area Monday morning with hurricane-force winds. “We are gonna face impacts in this state,” he said during a 7:30 a.m. briefing from the Florida Emergency Operations Center on Tallahassee’s south […]
Florida sits in the eye of the hurricane, but don’t tell that to DeSantis
At the beginning of every hurricane season, people who live in the path of these killer storms have to brace themselves for the relentless rain, fierce winds, and often-resulting devastation. In Florida, however, homeowners are being buffeted by an insurance crisis. As hurricanes, the resultant flooding and other natural disasters have clobbered Florida, affordable housing […]
Tampa becomes latest city to consider reconstituting police civilian review board
The Tampa City Council has decided not to repeal the city’s police citizen’s review board, formed in 2015 to investigate complaints against officers — at least not yet. The decision came Thursday after council members reported receiving new information — most significantly that the city of Miami’s Civilian Investigation Panel had not shut down as […]
Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin gives $12M to campaign against legalizing cannabis
The campaign to defeat Amendment 3, the measure designed to legalize recreational cannabis for adults in Florida, received its biggest boost so far with the announcement that hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin is contributing $20 million to oppose Amendment 3. Of that amount, $12 million will go directly to Keep Florida Clean, a political committee […]
Medicaid class action judge suggests state and patients discuss a settlement
JACKSONVILLE — The federal judge handling the class action filed by clients kicked off Medicaid by Florida state agencies following the end of the COVID emergency warned both sides Friday that neither would be happy with her ruling and suggested they discuss a settlement. “I don’t think either one of you is going to be […]
Bird defends states’ laws that prevent banks from considering ‘woke politics’
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led a coalition of attorneys general in a letter responding to the U.S. Treasury Department’s opposition to state laws that restrict banks from considering social or environmental factors when investing. The Treasury Department’s letter, obtained by The Associated Press, warned that these banking laws could […]
National ‘Ride to Decide’ bus tour touting abortion rights comes to Florida
The national abortion rights advocacy group Free & Just brought its “Ride to Decide” bus tour to the Sunshine State this week, making appearances in Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. The bus tour kicked off in Milwaukee during the Republican National Convention last month and is hitting states up and down the East Coast and South […]
Study says undocumented immigrants paid almost $100 billion in taxes
A new study shows that undocumented immigrants paid nearly $100 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue in 2022 while many are shut out of the programs their taxes fund. The findings run counter to anti-immigrant rhetoric that undocumented immigrants are “destroying” social programs. In 40 states, undocumented immigrants paid higher tax rates than the top […]
Class action: Florida held 4% of the hearings people requested after losing Medicaid benefits
JACKSONVILLE — State agencies received more than 11,000 requests for hearings from people challenging their loss of Medicaid benefits between April of last year and this May, but held only 484 hearings, according to evidence presented in federal court Thursday. The office overseeing the hearings reversed the Florida Department of Children and Families’ decision to […]
With parts of FL under a heat advisory, Kathy Castor calls on OSHA to expedite heat protection rule
Most of Central and Southwest Florida was under a heat advisory on Thursday between noon and 6 p.m., meaning widespread heat indices between 108 to 112 degrees were expected. While most Floridians can stay inside and be cooled by air conditioning, nearly half-a-million Sunshine State residents work in outdoor jobs and have to rely on the […]
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The Phoenix is a nonprofit news site that covers state government and politics with a staff of five journalists located at the Florida Press Center in downtown Tallahassee. We have a mix of in-depth stories, briefs, and social media updates on the latest events, editorial cartoons, and progressive commentary. Reporters in many now-shrunken capital bureaus have to spend most of their time these days chasing around after more and more outrageous political behavior, and too many don’t have time to lift up emerging innovative ideas or report on the people who are trying to help solve problems and shift policy for a more compassionate world. The Florida Phoenix does those stories. The Phoenix is part of States Newsroom a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers.
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